Dispenser



May 18, 1965 v. M. DE DOMENICO ETAL DISPENSER .2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 5, 1963 INVENTOM VINCENT M. DeDOMEN/CO HARRY LELAND DAV/5 ATTORNEYS May 18, 1965 v. M. DE DOMENICO ETAL 3,184,104

DISPENSER Filed D86. 5, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS VINCENT M. DeDOMEN/CO HARRY LELAND DAV/5 AT TORNE Y5 United States Patent 3,184,104 DISPENSER Vincent M. De Domenico, Hillsborough, and Harry L.

Davis, El Cerrito, Qalifi, assignors to Golden Grain Macaroni (30., San Leandro, Qaiifi, a corporation of California Filed Dec. 5, 1963, Ser. No. 328,295 3 Claims. (Cl. 22192) This invention relates to the dispensing art and more particularly to improvements in gravity feed dispenser units, such as are suitable as display dispensers for candy bars and rolls of wafer-shaped candy, whereby the units within the dispenser are exposed to a maximum of display for advertising purposes and whereby novel means serve the purpose of limiting unit removal to one-at-atime basis.

An object of the invention is to provide a dispenser of the type described with output end means adapted to prevent the removal from the dispenser at a given time of more than one unit contained in the dispenser.

A further object of the invention is to provide output end means of the type described having cooperative cam and wedge surfaces, the cam surface serving the function of progressively minimizing the weight efiect of the units stacked or piled within the dispenser in the direction of the lowermost unit which is in position for removal from the dispenser, and the wedge surface serving the function of maintaining the lowermost unit within the dispenser against the tendency of the units above it to discharge it from the dispenser.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a dispenser of the type described which is particularly adapted to be re-loaded through its upper end by magazine-type re-loading units.

And yet a further object of the invention is to provide dispensers of the type described with generally open side faces for the two-fold purpose of enabling maximum advertising display of the units contained within the dispenser and of enabling manual access through the open side of the dispenser to a removable tray carried by the described magazine re-loaders for the purpose of maintaining the re-load of units within the magazine re-loader. until the latter has been fully inserted into the dispenser through the top of the latter.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings forming part of this specification, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of an exemplary magazine re-loader and of a bank of dispensers which contains two species of the improved dispenser embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial view in front elevation of the lower part of the left half of the dispenser bank of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a detail view taken along lines 3-3 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a detail view taken along lines 4-4 of FIG. 2.

The dispenser bank shown in FIG. 1 is comprised of end walls and 12 which extend for the full height of the dispenser bank, abbreviated front and back walls, or panels 1 and 15 which extend for a relatively short distance downwardly from the top end of the dispenser bank, vertical partition walls 18, 2t and 22 which extend throughout the full height of the dispenser bank, and vertical partition walls 24 and 26 which are disposed centrally between the front and rear walls 14 and 16 and at right angles to the partition walls 18, and 22.

The respective walls and partitions thus far described may be made, for example, of sheet metal and may be, for example, mutually secured together in the conforma- Kiddies Patented May 18, 1965 ice tion shown in FIG. 1 by edge welding. A pair of metal rods 27" and 28 are secured, as by welding, to the upper and lower edges of the front wall 14 and to the immediately adjacent edge portions of the walls and partitions which abut with wall 14. A pair of metal rods 30 and 32 corresponding in manner of attachment and function to the rods 27 and 28, are secured to the wall 16.

Since both sides of the dispenser bank shown in FIG. 1 have the same construction and appearance as that side of the bank which is visible in FIG. 1, the following further description will be essentially limited to the visible side of the dispenser bank in FIG. 1.

The dispenser bank is composed of two species of dispensers. One species, indicated generally by reference numeral 34, is delimited in a first instance by end wall 10, front wall 14, partition wall 18, and rear wall 16, and, in another instance, by front wall 14, end wall 12, rear wall 16, and partition wall 22.

The dispensers 34- are particularly adapted for the feeding of roll-type candy units 36 (FIG. 3). Means are provided to maintain such roll candy units within the dispensers 34, said means comprising a bottom deflector plate 38, a pair of restraining rods 39 having vertically disposed portions 40 spaced inwardly from end wall 19 and partition wall 18 and horizontally directed portions or guard members 42 which extend outwardly to meet with and be joined to the end wall 10 and the partition wall 18, and metal supporting rod members 43 having downwardly and outwardly inclined portions 44, upwardly and outwardly inclined support member portions 46, and outwardly directed horizontal portions 48. The portion 48 of the rod member 43 adjacent end wall It) merges with a re-entrant horizontal portion Stl which is secured to end wall It). The portion 48 of the rod member adjacent the partition wall 18 merges with portions 46 and 44, the latter being secured to the partition wall 24, which two portions are symmetrical in shape and form to rod portions 44 and 46. The deflector plate or member 38 is in turn supported by and secured to the inner ends of the portions 44 of the rod elements 43, it being understood that there are also two such rod elements 43 at the non-visible side of the dispenser bank. The portions 49 of rods 39 are secured to the horizontal rod 28.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the distance between the front wall 14 and the rear wall 16 of the dispensers 34 is approximately three times the diameter dimension of one of the cylindrical unit of candy 36. The raised and rounded central portion of the deflector member 38 causes the candy units to be fed downwardly and outwardly between the lateral restraining rod members 39 and the supporting rod members 43. From FIG. 3 it will be appreciated that the portions 44 of the rod members 43 cam-deflect the roll candy units outwardly in single file fashion and that the outermost and lowermost roll candy unit is retained in place by the wedging effect provided by the support member portions 46 of the rod members 43. It will further be appreciated that the cumulative weight elfect by the roll candy units on the outermost and lowermost one, which is positioned for manual removal from the device, is reduced essentially to a minimum so that there is no appreciable binding action on the candy unit positioned for removal such as would militate against its ready removal by hand from the unit. The heterogeneous reactive pressures which the loosely packed units 36 exert against each other Within the lateral confines of the rod members 39 tends to minimize the downward and outward pushing effect which the bulk of the units 36 exert against the units which are positioned for manual removal. Also, the inappreciable force which the bulk of the units 36 exert against the units positioned for removal is not sufficient to cause the latter to be worked upwardly over the support member 3 portions 46 to cause their accidental dislodgment from the device. In this connection, it will be appreciated that the rolls positioned for removal have their centers of gravity located at about the level of the high end portions of the support member portions 46 of the support rod members 43. 7 I

It will further be appreciated, by reference to FIG. 3, that only the single rolls of candy positioned for removal may be removed at one time from the dispenser.

The second species of dispenser in the rack of FIG. 1 is indicated generally by the reference numeral'52, there being two such units shown, each of which is divided into a doubleton dispenser by an intermediate partition wall, e.g., 24- or 26. Since all four sub-units of the dispensers 52 are identical, descriptive reference will be had only to that one of the four sub-units which is defined between the front wall 14 and partition walls 20, 22 and 26.

The open front face of this sub-unit of dispenser type 52 is laterally closed against the egress of such as the candy bars 54 (FIG. 4) by rod members 56 which have vertically extending portions connected to the horizontal rod 28 and outwardly and downwardly extending angular portions or guard members 60. The guard members 60 merge with outwardly directed horizontal portions or terminal members 62, the functional portions of which extend to the planes in which the partition walls and 22 are located. For the sake of convenience and for the sake of unitizing the rod. element arrangement, the

portion or terminal member 62 of rod 56 adjacent the partition wall is made unitary with a counterpart portion and, similarly, with counterpart portions of 60 and 58 of the rod means furnished to serve the left-adjacent and similar dispenser compartment constituting a sub-unit of the dispenser species 52. Horizontally directed rod elements 64 interconnect the rod 56 with their respectively adjacent partition walls 20 and 22.

This second species of dispenser is further provided with rod elements or support members 66 which are secured to the partition wall 26 and are provided with downwardly and outwardly extending portions 68, outwardly and upwardly extending support member portions 70, and outwardly and horizontally directed portions 72, the functional part of the latter terminating in the planes in which the partition walls 20 and 22 reside.

Turning now to FIG. 4 for a description of the mode of operation of the dispenser species 52, it will be seen that the candy bars 54, which are shown in end profile, have a width which is somewhat less than the depth of the dispenser, as measured between the front wall 14 and the partition wall 26. Thus, the bars 54 are loaded into the dispenser in single stacks. It will further be seen that the cam-effect portions 68 of the rod elements 66 deflect the bars progressively outwardly andrserve to support a substantial portion of the weight of the stack of bars, thereby tending to minimize the pressure effect exerted on the'lo'wermost and outermost bar which is positioned for removal. Thus, the bar positioned for removal maybe readily removed manually, as by upwardly and outwardly sliding this barfrom beneath the stack in rather inverse fashion to the way in which the top card of a deck of cards is slipped by hand from the top of the deck. The wedge-effect or support member portions 70 of the rod elements 66 serve to trap the lowermost and outermost bar against accidental removal from the dispenser under any force effect applied to this bar by the bars thereabove. Again, and as was the case with the dispenser species 34, the space between the portions of the rod elements 56 and 66 which define the outlet mouth for the dispenser limits the manual removability from the dispenser of the bars to one bar at a time. 7

As previously indicated, the open side of either a single dispenser or a rack or bank of a plurality of dispensers embodying the features of the invention render the goods to be dispensed visible in bulk to the potential consumer.

A further feature of the dispensers of the invention is that they readily lend themselves to magazine re-loading. An exemplary magazine re-loader specifically adapted for the re-loading of the four units shown in FIG. 1 of the dispenser species52 is indicated generally at 74 in FIG. 1. The re-ioader 74 is a doubly open-ended box portion having a slot 76 adjacent its lower end into which there is removably fitted a tray 73 havin a base portion 89 and an upstanding flange portion 82 having an outwardly de flected upper end 84.

' When one of the units of the dispenser species 52 requires reloading, the bars 54 are loaded into the magazine re-lo ader 74, following which the re-loader is fitted into and moved downwardly within the dispenser, following which the out-turned upper end 84- of the flange 82 of the tray 78 is pulled outwardly between the rod elements 56 to allow the bars 54 to deposit themselves within the dispenser. A comparable re-loader may be employed for the dispenser species 34.

What is claimed is:

1. A gravity-feed dispenser for similarly shaped articles of parallelepiped configuration having a greater plan area than elevational area, comprising:

(a) a tube form body member, having a front side, a

lower discharge end, and internal dimensions taken on a plane normal to the longitudinal axis thereof substantially equal to the plan dimensions of said articles, said body member being adapted to loosely contain a plurality of said articles in single file stacked relationship with the plan surfaces of adjacent articles in juxtaposition to each other;

(b) means carried by said body member adjacent the lower end thereof to control the dispensing of articles therefrom and to limit the removability of said articles from said body member to one at a time; said means comprising: a

('l) a pair of support members fixedly related to said body member adjacent the lower discharge end thereof, said support members having outwardly and downwardly inclined portions adapted to progressively and partially laterally oifset, from top to bottom, the articles engaging said portions through said discharge end and in the direction of said front side;

(2) support member portions extending laterally from said support members as continuations thereof adapted to prevent the lowermost of said articles from being dispensed out of said body member under the pressure exerted upon said lowermost article by the articles thereabove;

(3) a guard member carried at the front side of said body member and extending substantially parallel to said inclined portions to define with said latter portions an inclined channel of substantially the same internal transverserdimen- 'sions as, said body member to limit lateral displacement of articles supported on said inclined portions; and, i

(4-) a terminal member on the lower end of said guard member spaced from said support member portions so as to define a mouth having internal dimensions substantially equal to the elevational dimensions of said articles to permit the manual for similarly shaped arcontain a plurality of said articles in stacked re- 7 lationship; and,

(-2) means carried by said body member adjacent the lower end thereof to control the dispensing of articles therefrom and to limit the removability of saidarticles from said body mem-ber;

ans aloe (b) a magazine re-loader for said articles, comprising: (1) a box portion substantially complemental in peripheral form to the tube form body member and being insertable into said body member to a substantial distance to deposit a fresh load of articles into said body member, said box portion being open at the lower end thereof; and,

(2) a tray slidably received in said open lower end to selectively close said end and support said fresh load of articles thereabove, said tray having a lesser width than the open front side of said body member whereby said tray is removable from said box portion through the open front of said body member to deposit said fresh load of articles within said body member in positional condition to be dispensed therefrom.

3. A gravity-feed dispenser for similarly shaped round articles, comprising:

'(a) an open tube form body member having a lower discharge end and front and rear sides spaced apart by a distance suflicient to contain therebetween at least two of said articles in side by side relationship, said member being adapted to contain a plurality of said articles in stacked relationship;

(b) means carried by said body member adjacent the lower end thereof to control the dispensing of articles from both the front and rear sides thereof and to limit the removability of said articles from each of said sides to one at a time, said means comprising:

(1) a deflector fixedly related to said body member adjacent said lower end between said front and rear sides, said deflector being spaced from each of said sides by a distance sufiicient to permit said articles to pass thereby;

(2) front and rear pairs of support members fixedly related to said body member adjacent the lower discharge end thereof, said front and rear pairs of support members each having inclined portions extending outwardly and downwardly from said deflector towards and below the respective front and rear sides which are adapted to partially laterally olfset, from top to bottom, the articles engaging said portions through said discharge end and in the direction of said respective front and rear sides;

(3) support member portions extending outwardly and upwardly from said front and rear support members as continuations thereof adapted to prevent the lowermost of said articles from being dispensed out of said body member under the pressure exerted upon said lowermost article by the articles thereabove; and,

(4) guard members carried at the front and rear sides of said body member and defining with the respective support member portions extending from said front and rear support members discharge mouths each dimensioned and disposed to permit the manual removal therefrom of but one article at a time.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 348,164 8/86 Judson 312- :1,723,232 8/29 Fischer et a1 221-197 1,753,957 4/30 Washburn 2221-2-87 t1,785,107 12/ 30 Bartholomew 221-311 2,149, 700 6/ '38 Burgess.

3,010,606 11/61 Haselov 221-311 FOREIGN PATENTS 411,888 6/ 34 Great Britain. 647,888 12/50 Great Britain.

RAPHAEL M. L-UPO, Primary Examiner.

LOUIS J. DEM BO, Examiner. 

3. A GRAVITY-FEED DISPENSER FOR SIMILARLY SHAPED ROUND ARTICLES, COMPRISING: (A) AN OPEN TUBE FORM BODY MEMBER HAVING A LOWER DISCHARGE END AND FRONT AND REAR SIDES SPACED APART BY A DISTANCE SUFFICIENT TO CONTAIN THEREBETWEEN AT LEAST TWO OF SAID ARTICLES IN SIDE BY SIDE RELATIONSHIP, SAID MEMBER BEING ADAPTED TO CONTAIN A PLURALITY OF SAID ARTICLES IN STACKED RELATIONSHIP; (B) MEANS CARRIED BY SAID BODY MEMBER ADJACENT THE LOWER END THEREOF TO CONTROL THE DISPENSING OF ARTICLES FROM BOTH THE FRONT AND REAR SIDES THEREOF AND TO LIMIT THE REMOVABILITY OF SAID ARTICLES FROM EACH OF SAID SIDES TO ONE AT A TIME, SAID MEANS COMPRISING: (1) A DEFLECTOR FIXEDLY RELATED TO SAID BODY MEMBER ADJACENT SAID LOWER END BETWEEN SAID FRONT AND REAR SIDES, SAID DEFLECTOR BEING SPACED FROM EACH OF SAID SIDES BY A DISTANCE SUFFICIENT TO PERMIT SAID ARTICLES TO PASS THEREBY; (2) FRONT AND REAR PAIRS OF SUPPORT MEMBERS FIXEDLY RELATED TO SAID BODY MEMBER ADJACENT THE LOWER DISCHARGE END THEREOF, SAID FRONT AND REAR PAIRS OF SUPPORT MEMBERS EACH HAVING INCLINED PORTIONS EXTENDING OUTWARDLY AND DOWNWARDLY FROM SAID DEFLECTOR TOWARDS AND BELOW THE RESPECTIVE FRONT AND REAR SIDES WHICH ARE ADAPTED TO PARTIALLY LATERALLY OFFSET, FROM TOP TO BOTTOM, THE ARTICLES ENGAGING SAID PORTIONS THROUGH SAID DISCHARGE END AND IN THE DIRECTION OF SAID RESPECTIVE FRONT AND REAR SIDES; (3) SUPPORT MEMBER PORTIONS EXTENDING OUTWARDLY AND UPWARDLY FROM SAID FRONT AND REAR SUPPORT MEMBERS AS CONTINUATIONS THEREOF ADAPTED TO PREVENT THE LOWERMOST OF SAID ARTICLES FROM BEING DISPENSED OUT OF SAID BODY MEMBER UNDER THE PRESSURE EXERTED UPON SAID LOWERMOST ARTICLE BY THE ARTICLES THEREABOVE; AND, (4) GUARD MEMBERS CARRIED AT THE FRONT AND REAR SIDES OF SAID BODY MEMBER AND DEFINING WITH THE RESPECTIVE SUPPORT MEMBER PORTIONS EXTENDING FROM SAID FRONT AND REAR SUPPORT MEMBERS DISCHARGE MOUTHS EACH DIMENSIONED AND DISPOSED TO PERMIT THE MANUAL REMOVAL THEREFROM OF BUT ONE ARTICLE AT A TIME. 